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20 September 2008
19 September 2008
Riding Lessons
Rebekah seems to be enjoying her riding lessons - she actually felt comfortable at a gallop yesterday! Galloping was most definitely out of her "comfort zone" at first. She says riding English style is so very different than riding on a western saddle, with a horn you can hold on to. English style, you hang on by squeezing the horse with your legs and balancing/moving with the animal. And it looked so easy in the equestrian competitions we saw at the Olympics!
Next week, she starts group lessons that last an hour instead of the "trial" individual 1/2 hour lessons she has had the past two weeks... if I understood everything her instructor was saying to her! And just in case you were curious, the name of the horse she has been riding is Mistral. We have no idea who she will be riding next week... so stay tuned! September 19, 2008 - Prayer for the Nineteenth Day of Ramadan
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18 September 2008
September 18, 2008 - Prayer for the Eighteenth Day of Ramadan
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17 September 2008
September 17, 2008 - Prayer for the Seventeenth Day of Ramadan
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Almost Wordless Wednesday - A Baby Swing
I actually did use a baby swing like this some with Victoria... maybe I'll dig it out (if the termites haven't eaten it) and use it with the one that is coming...???16 September 2008
La Tortue
It only took Anna and I 1.5 hours to memorize her poem for school tomorrow... And that was about all I got accomplished. Oh well... Chameleons REALLY are Cool!
These photos and the video were taken early in the summer... the baby chameleons that hatched in our garden earlier in the spring.
Rebekah found one of them before we left for church Sunday morning. Look how it has grown!
This last photo was one Rebekah took of her "pet."
September 16, 2008 - Prayer for the Sixteenth Day of Ramadan
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15 September 2008
Birthday Picnic on the Plateau
The Plateau, just a bit northwest of town and overlooking the river, is one of our favorite places to go. It is out of the city, away from the noise, the sunset is usually beautiful... when you throw in great friends - it all makes for a wonderful evening.
The evenings activities included a meal, birthday cupcakes, little red wagon rides, fencing, donkey rides, a bonfire, lots of clouds but no rain, fun conversation and kangaroo rat hunting. What more could you want?
Didn't snap many photos, but here are a few...
The flash didn't go off on this one - so we have the blurry, photo by firelight look... the wind was blowing just enough and the matches here are poor enough quality that Tim actually had to stick the candle into our bonfire to get it to light. Jonathan was worried he was going to burn up the candle before Elsie Mae got to blow it out.
Elsie Mae was all ready to blow her candle out - but Jonathan beat her to it! I think she liked the pink lemonade frosting on her cupcake - since she ate that and left the cake!
Nadia and one of Elsie Mae's friends who joined us for the picnic. You can also read about our evening from their perspective at their blog page.
Isn't she a cutie-pie? Not only were we glad for the opportunity for a family outing - we were delighted to be able to celebrate our Elsie Mae!
September 15, 2008 - Prayer for the Fifteenth Day of Ramadan
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14 September 2008
Rainy Season Joys...
... yes, it is true that we enjoy the cool, cloudy weather. It is also true that we are thankful for the abundance of rain (at least for this part of the world) that we have received this year. But, rainy season also brings with it some irritations and some more than irritations. Wet sand that is tracked in the house, ends up in your bed and even sometimes in your bread - that is an irritation that becomes wearying by the end of the rains. We frequently have colds/sinus issues - sneezes and runny noses abound. More seriously, diseases like malaria, typhoid and dysentery are also more common - malaria and dysentery being two of the top causes of death for children under the age of 5. And then, there are all the parasites that live in the soil, that our children love to dig and play in as well as skin maladies like infantigo/impetigo - whichever you choose to call it...
We are battling three of these things right now. Rebekah was in to the clinic the Thursday night after having run a temp every night for 4 nights. When her temp went up to 103 (it was 104'F/40'C by the time we saw the dr. at the clinic), I decided we needed to have her checked out. Turns out she has malaria and her blood work also indicated some type of infection somewhere... I'm figuring that is a result of infantigo that we've been treating with topical ointments for a couple of weeks now. So, she is now also following a treatment of oral antibiotics and one for malaria. So far tonight, she is fever free for the first time since last Monday night - YEAH!!!
We've also since discovered that she has hookworm, as does Elsie Mae. No, this picture is not an actual picture of one of "their" worms - this whole worm thing really turns my tummy, especially when pregnant, so it is all I can do to treat it - but thought some of you might find it interesting. :-) So far, we've just been treating the symptoms - but will head to the pharmacy some time tomorrow to see if we can get a real treatment that should clear it up, as I finally now know the name of what I need to buy and the dosage appropriate for a little one. That should take care of things pretty quickly then!
There is a positive to this minor hookworm epidemic we are currently experiencing, however. Apparently they are researching using hookworms to prevent allergies??? Check out the this article, if you are curious to know more.
On a totally different note - I'm hoping to post some this week about Elsie Mae's birthday picnic, Rebekah's horseback riding lessons and Ladies' Bible study on Saturday... so many ideas, so little time.
September 14, 2008 - Prayer for the Fourteenth Day of Ramadan
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13 September 2008
September 13, 2008 - Prayer for the Thirteenth Day of Ramadan
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12 September 2008
EMBARKING YET ONCE AGAIN ON THOSE TREMENDOUSLY TERRIFIC TWOS!!!
Today is Elsie Mae's 2nd birthday. We are planning a picnic celebration... if it doesn't rain... with several good friends. And she doesn't have a clue that all the fuss getting ready for today is about her, but that's OK! We are so thankful for our precious, two year old blessing, who loves life and loves people!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ELSIE MAE!September 12, 2008 - Prayer for the Twelth Day of Ramadan
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11 September 2008
September 11, 2008 - Prayer for the Eleventh Day of Ramadan
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10 September 2008
Pondering Parenting
Parenting is one of those things I want to do well... and I think I can finally, honestly say that this is not primarily true because I want to look good in the eyes of others, but because I want my children to be a sweet smelling offering to the Lord. This is a change God has brought about. As a younger mom, on the road from church to church as we sought financial and prayer support to come to the mission field, I often based parenting decisions on what I thought those around me expected. I'm slowly learning to base my decisions on what the Holy Spirit has shown me to be right for that particular child in that particular instance - though this certainly isn't something I've mastered. I don't tend to pick up the standard "parenting manuals" often recomended in evangelical circles any more. My two favorites are actually Proverbs and James. But I just finished reading a book that has appealed to and intrigued me, primarily as a confirmation of how God has been changing my parenting perspectives. This has been a very up and down journey for me, one that began as we left for language school, with my first "trial" being the day I took my 4 year old boy to a French maternelle class. I could only speak enough of the language myself to just barely get along. That was not my plan. I wanted to homeschool and keep my children in an environment where I had the control over what influenced and came into their lives... God was not in agreement then, just as now He clearly has us sending our children to school in what many might consider "less than ideal" circumstances.
Our first school experience turned out to be a fabulous one. If I could have "designed" the perfect teacher for my son that year, I don't think I would have been able to come up with the compassionate, gentle and godly woman who spoke almost no English that the Lord provided for Brendan. And that experience grew my trust in the Lord, that even when His will wasn't matching with my plan - His will would be the best.
As we have lived in Niger, I've been so blessed to observe a dear friend here who is one of the most authentic parents I know - not perfect, but so very real. This different parenting style scared me at first, but intrigues me now... and I find myself wanting to imitate it. It goes contrary to my nature - because it is so God-dependant and takes me out of the driver's seat. When I was handed the book Authentic Parenting in a Postmodern Culture by Mary E. DeMuth, and I read the back, I couldn't wait to dive into it, because she discusses some of those same things I've been observing. I just finished the book tonight, while waiting for Tim to get home from a late night of studio work.
My ideas about parenting are being challenged by the thought provoking and I believe biblical ideas presented in the book. God had already been directing our parenting much more in this way. The book discusses things like (from the back of the book):
- engagning your kids in conversations instead of issuing ultimatums;
- seeing your children's behaviors as windows into your won spiritual life;
- coaching your children instead of lecturing them;
- modeling the transparent, authentic lifestyle you want for your kids;
- demonstrating a life of thankfulness, creativity and service."
One of my favorite sections, titled "The Beauty of Wrestling," was, I felt, particularly true. DeMuth writes:
"We often approach the Bible with our children - and ourselves - trying to solve all its mysteries. when our children ask about God's Old testament wrath upon entire nations, we pull out slick theological arguments to that God won't appear mean to them. Or we'll share, 'That was the Old Testament. We are in a New Covenant relationship with Jesus now,' as if God has changed magically between the Testaments. We don't welcome the wrestling. It makes us uncomfortable. We'd rather have it all figured out and if we teach our children our own pet theologies, we think we have adequately completed the task of bringing them up in the Lord...We've lost the beauty of wrestling. We've forgotten how to welcome it into our homes....It's not an easy task. It's much easier to choose a set of beliefs and then defend them to the death, making sure our children mimic the proper tenets. We have a harder time saying, 'You know what? I don't know why God took out entire generations of people. I could give you some theological explanations if you're interested, but to be honest, it rubs me the wrong way. I don't understand how a loving God could do that. I know he's just and righteous and can see everything, but it's hard for me to reconcile all that killing with Jesus.' By saying that, we invite our children into our own wrestling, our own questions.Unfortunately, we have reduced God and His Word to that which is manageable, nice and agreeable. We've sanitized the Bible so that we don't have to grapple with its ambiguity. We don't want to be Jacob, wrestling hour upon hour with the living, breathing, wild God, only to walk the rest of our lives with a limp. It's messy. It doesn't perpetuate formulaic biblical interpretation...If we were really honest with ourselves, we'd admit that we do wrestle with the sticky issues of the Bible, but we don't often give ourselves permission to show that struggle. Instead of hiding what is inside or adopting everyone else's airtight explanations for the difficulties of the Bible, why not dialogue? Why not bring our concerns to the family table? Why not show our disappointment when God doesn't answer a prayer in the way we hoped? By doing this, we train children to recognize that asking questions is all right, that God's shoulders are big enough to hold our doubts. When our children leave home, they will leave knowing that the Bible is a difficult but life-filled book."
Another section that I really appreciated had to do with growing a spirit of thankfulness in our children. Here, DeMuth says,
"We forget sometimes. We roll our eyes. We say 'bo-ring' under our breath. We treat life as if it were all about us. But the essence of life is gratitude. Thankfulness. How do we instill gratefulness in our children while the world around them is spinning on the axis of selfishness?...So much of what we try to teach our children is demonstrated, not preached. Perhaps our children are grateful because we are grateful. Or maybe they've seen other be selfish, and it rubs them the wrong way. Or maybe they've gotten to know the gentleness of Jesus a little more each day.Teaching kids that life is a gift isn't easy.... God is the one who elevates us. He lifts our heads above circumstances. In Psalm 3.3, the psalmist says, 'But you are a shield around me, O LORD; you bestow glory on me and lift up my head.' Why does He lift our heads? So we can see the vista beyond our belly buttons. Above us is heaven, where the Triune God reigns in glory....Gracious followers of Jesus will entice the world. Self-serving, prideful Pharisees merely shake their finger and push others away.What kind of faith do we want our children to bring to this postmodern world? A stoic, stuffy religion that beckons people to rules and regulations? Or a vibrant, life-giving, grace-abounding relationship with Jesus that infects and affects the people around them? What will attract a shifting culture to Jesus? It will be our invigorated, grateful hearts -- authentic, broken hearts that dare to thank God in the midst of life's mess. That's what this world hungers for: a unique expression of the reality of Jesus on the field of postmodernity. As we dare to love and challenge our children in this world, teaching them to follow the path of the scarred Carpenter, we will begin to see how Jesus can infuse culture through them. They are missionaries, sent out to a culture we may not understand. To prepare them is our duty and joy."
If you are definitely interested in a thought-provoking read, especially one that applies to parenting preteen/teen children, go ahead and give this book a try.
September 10, 2008 - Prayer for the Tenth Day of Ramadan
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09 September 2008
And the last two are finally officially "in school..."
Brendan started back to school the 2nd week of August at Sahel Academy. Nadia, Anna and Victoria returned to Ecole Alliance last week. And as of yesterday, Rebekah and Jonathan are officially home schooling - and we are loving it!
When I home school, I don't even try to approximate or imitate a regular school setting. We curl up on our waterbed - Elsie Mae is right in the thick of things, usually on my lap and she thinks this is all for her benefit - Rebekah and I go through whatever subject we are working on, she starts to work on her assignment, and then I do something with Jonathan. I really debated if I was going to do any formal schooling with Jonathan this year as he doesn't turn 4 until December. However, because of some of his speech and language challenges, I figured some phonics work would be beneficial and he was begging to do something. And the little bugger has totally shocked me. His eye-hand coordination is much better than I dreamed, as coloring is not one of his preferred activities (he prefers chasing chickens, building with legos and sword-fighting with his big brother), so he's not done a whole lot of that. We had been playing math games with him over the summer - and so I pulled out the K5 math book - and he is verbally answering the questions correctly with little hesitation or obvious thought. In two days, he has Romans 3.23 fairly well memorized (albeit not everyone would be able to understand him), and if we could just convince him that 9 comes after 8 and not after 4 - he'd be counting to 12. I'm just not sure if he's clowing around with us or if he's having a hard time hearing the difference between 9 and 5? He loves Bible stories and reading time and thinks it is hilarious when Elsie tries to repeat key phonics words (although she says Adam - for the short a sound - more clearly than her big bro!). The smile never leaves his face the entire time we are working together, unless Elsie decides to plop onto his lap instead of mine or tries to steal his special writing markers.
Rebekah's school is a little different this year. She enjoys listening as I read to the little ones, and they enjoy coloring and cutting and harassing each other as I work on algebra, grammar and French with her. But our focus is not so much on academics as it is on relationship building and discipleship this year. Brendan went from CM2 at Ecole Alliance directly into 7th grade. Rebekah is not quite old enough for 7th grade yet although she is academically ready. So this gives us some time to work through a more in depth Bible study, spend time cooking, baking bread, sewing - by hand and using the machine, and also gives her a chance to try her hand at teaching her younger siblings just a bit.
All in all, I think it will be a delightful year of home schooling - I love teaching my children and if it wasn't for the fact that we are convinced it is God's will and plan for them to be in their present schooling situations, I'd be tickled pink to have them all here with me, all year long. We also love the fact that they are becoming fluent in French and learning to love and relate to their African friends, as well as the missionary and expatriate communities.
And, speaking of kids in school, I'd better wind this up and go pick up the other girls from their afternoon classes at Alliance...
September 09, 2008 - Prayer for the Ninth Day of Ramadan
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08 September 2008
September 08, 2008 - Prayer for the Eighth Day of Ramadan
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07 September 2008
September 07, 2008 - Prayer for the Seventh Day of Ramadan
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06 September 2008
September 06, 2008 - Prayer for the Sixth Day of Ramadan
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05 September 2008
"Glory"
My most recent "favorite" song is "Glory" by Selah/Nichole Nordeman. I can't explain exactly why... probably the direction the Holy Spirit has been taking the meditations of my heart lately... If you like the song, too, and want to listen - you can play it from the sidebar.
"Glory"
Words & Music by Nichole Nordeman
One day eyes that are blind will see you clearly
And one day all who deny will finally believe
One day hearts made of stone will break in pieces
And one day chains once unbroken will fall down at your feet
So we wait for that one day come quickly
Chorus: We want to see your Glory
Every knee falls down before thee
Every tongue offers you praise
With every hand raised
Singing Glory
To you and unto you only
We'll sing Glory to Your name
One day voices that lie will all be silent
One day all that's divided will be whole again
One day death will retreat and wave it's white flag
One day love will defeat the strongest enemy
So we wait for that one day come quickly
Chorus: We want to see your Glory
Every knee falls down before thee
Every tongue offers you praise
With every hand raised
Singing Glory
To you and unto you only
We'll sing Glory to Your name
We know not the day or the hour
Or the moments in between
But we know the end of the story
When we'll see your Glory
Every knee falls down before thee
Every tongue offers you praise
With every hand raised
Singing Glory
To you and unto you only
We'll sing Glory to Your name
I was listening to "Glory" yesterday while working on Ladies' Bible study (for this Saturday - please be praying) on our laptop. Brendan was working on homework on the desktop (he was writing a poem... after studying a Victor Hugo poem about sowing and the harvest... and then searching for verses about the harvest in the Bible... all in French!). He must have been listening to the words of the song more intently than I imagined, (pretty incredible, when you remember that the song is in English and he was writing and reading French). All of the sudden, I heard a quiet "Mom?" from his corner of the room.
"Yep?" I replied, just a bit distracted by my own work.
"That's a really pretty song - but I think it also makes me a little sad," he continued.
Intrigued, I gave him my full attention, because I'd never heard someone describe a song about the return of Christ in His glory as ~~sad~~ . "Why do you say that?" I inquired.
"Well, because for us, it will be a really wonderful, awesome day. But what about all of our friends, all of the people here who don't know or understand about Jesus yet? There are so many of them...," This last thought was said in almost a whisper, his voice trailed off as he paused and exhaled softly before continuing. "It will be a sad and final day for them. I hope Jesus makes us all wait longer," he said gently and softly, hesitating as though he was concerned about my response.
But what sort of a response is there to what my son had just shared? What could I say? I didn't say much. I just walked over to where he was sitting, gave him a hug, kissed the top of his head, told him I loved him and sincerely thanked him for reminding me of that truth. And I also silently thanked the Lord. Such precious moment, for God gave me just a glimpse of how He's tendering the heart of this boy-child and growing him into a young man. It was like He snapped a polaroid, and handed it to me to enjoy... a tiny snapshot of how He is imprinting and developing His gentleness, His mercy, in the heart of this child He has entrusted to us - and as He continues to work, the details will come more and more evident and clearly into focus. Such a convicting moment, for God, who is worthy of all glory, never forgets those who still need to trust Him while I, in my busyness, my preoccupations, my hope for the future, so easily can.
These gentle words from my son were also words from the Savior, reminding me that while I wait in anticipation for His coming and longing for His future glory, I need to live and breathe His message and His mercy, the same mercy that He extends in the cross, that He extends in His tarrying...
--------------------------------
Last picture from Crafty Curate.
September 05, 2008 - Prayer for the Fifth Day of Ramadan
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04 September 2008
The First Day of School
Victoria, Anna and Nadia began school, back at Ecole Alliance this year. I thought I'd let each one of them tell you about their teacher, their class and their first day back at school:
VICTORIA:
My teacher is M. Mounkaila, and everyone says he is one of the nicest teachers in the whole school. My sisters say he is patient and nice to little kids. I'm not a little kid, but he's nice to me, too. First of all, we introduced ourselves, telling our names and what we did. We had two recesses; I ate the cookies Daddy bought me during my recess time and saw my sisters. We sat under the shade over by the gate to eat our cookies because it is quieter over there. I saw the bathrooms. My teacher showed us which one was the boys and which one was the girls. I also saw the English room. Our teacher gave us a chalkboard and a sponge to erase it. Then he handed out our "cahier de liason." That is how my teacher will talk to Mama and Daddy, and they can send notes back to him. My favorite thing about school was the little bit of homework we did: counting to "dix," and the alphabet. I had a big smile on my face when Daddy came to pick me up. ANNA:
My teacher is M. Omar. He's a nice teacher. He is Italian and Algerian and he can speak several languages. He's not too strict. He likes kids and I think I'll like being in his class. When the bell rings, we have to stand behind our chairs until M. Omar tells we have permission to sit down. We started working on all of our different cahiers (notebooks). When we got our "cahier de liason" M. Omar glued two papers inside. The bell rang and I was the first one out of my class. I went to Victoria's class to wait for her. After recess, we got our "cahier de texte" and we wrote a note in there. We put all the extra stuff away in the teacher's shelf for storing things. He handed out all of our school supplies: pens, pencils, a compass, a ruler, our own "gomme" (that's an eraser) and we put them all into our trousse, and then put the trousse right inside your desk. I followed the directions just right, so I got a "Bravo!" from M. Omar. We got our own chalkboards and sponges. When it was time to leave, M. Omar said, "Tu peux sortir. Au revoir." Then I went down the stairs and Daddy was waiting for me. It was a nice first day of school! NADIA:
I am in the class of CM1. My teacher is M. Urbain Gbeha. I think he is from Niger. There are 25 kids in my class, but my best friend from all my other years at Ecole Alliance, Zeina, doesn't go to school there any more. There's a new girl this year - I want to try and be her friend. We sit in 5 rows down and 5 rows across. I'm in the middle line down and the 2nd line across. I'm the only girl in my row across, but there is another girl in the row down. I'm one of the oldest kids in my class. We got all of our cahiers (notebooks) except for Music and English, which we will get with the teachers of those classes. We got our "etiquettes" for all of our cahiers - that's how we keep track of our individual notebooks. We didn't do any school work. We just got materials and prepared our notebooks to start working. I think we'll start school work tomorrow, and our class schedule, too. Then I'll know when I have to wear tennis shoes because we have sports class. Daddy needs to take me to the market to buy new tennis shoes. The best part of my day was at the end when we were all cleaning up, organizing the class and seeing all of my friends - we were allowed to visit in whispers with each other as long we kept busy. It was a good day and I'm glad to be back at school. September 04 - Prayer for the Fourth Day of Ramadan
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03 September 2008
September 03, 2008 - Prayer for the Third Day of Ramadan
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02 September 2008
25 Weeks Pregnant
It has been fun, this pregnancy, to have two big girls who are always interested in what the baby is doing, how big the baby is, if it will be a boy or girl, can the baby hear them when they talk to my tummy, whether I look pregnant or fat...
So, I found a web site, I Am Pregnant, that gives a week by week summary of a typical pregnancy, including some pictures which the girls particulary enjoy. Here's the info that we are looking at today, in honor of 25 weeks. Talking with another missionary mom last weekend, she remarked that her only daughter (who is 16 now and was one of our kids favorite baby sitters last year), was born during the 24th week, and could lay in the palm of her hand...
Dates and numbers:
There are 104 days until your due date on December 16, 2008.
You are 176 days pregnant.
You are 5.8 months pregnant.
You are in your 6th month of pregnancy.
Your 1st trimester: March 11, 2008 to June 09, 2008. (0 - 12 weeks)
Your 2nd trimester: June 10, 2008 to September 22, 2008. (13 - 27 weeks)
Your 3rd trimester: September 23, 2008 to December 16, 2008. (28 - 40 weeks)
"Your baby's crown-to-rump length is about 8.8 inches. Weight has increased to around 1.5 pounds and fat is still being deposited at a high rate. Babies come in all shapes and sizes, so your baby could vary slightly from these `average` measurements. Your uterus has grown quite a bit bigger this week. The top of your uterus is between your bellybutton and your sternum. Your uterus is about the size of a soccer ball now!"
"If your baby is delivered at this time, it would have a good chance of surviving. It is best for your baby to remain inside of you for the remainder of the pregnancy, but great advances have been made in the care of a premature baby. Ventilators, monitors and medications all help premature babies develop and grow outside of the womb. If your baby were born this early, he would probably have to spend several months in the hospital and would be more susceptible to infections and other complications."
"You can hear your baby's heartbeat with both a Doppler and a stethoscope at this time, and your partner may even be able to hear the heartbeat unaided if he puts his ear in the right position. Sex differentiation is being completed now. Your baby is able to do more with their fingers now and can move his fingers to make a complete fist. As your baby becomes more dexterous, he will be able to touch and hold his feet. Babies also begin to prefer their left hand or right hand at this time. Because babies settle into routines of sleep and activity, you might begin to notice these patterns as well. Some women experience the most fetal movements while they are trying to rest." 01 September 2008
"Laborious"
In honor of Labor Day (I'd almost forgotten - since we don't celebrate that here... although come to think of it, the US embassy might be closed...), Shannon at Rocks in my Dryer posted the following meme. Since pregnancy - and an upcoming delivery are frequently on my mind these days, I thought I might as well jump in and join in the fun.
How long were your labors?
Brendan, 11 hours
Rebekah Joy, 8 hours
Nadia, 6 hours
Anna, 5 days (I kid you not... We went to the hospital on day 1, but things weren't progressing, so they said to go home and come back... On day 3, after a check at the doctor's office, they sent me to the hospital, so days 3, 4 & 5 were spent there. I asked the doctor, after the fact, why they let labor go on so long. His response: "Both you and the baby were handling it, so I didn't want to intervene unless it became necessary.")
Victoria, 7.5 hours (a complete induction)
Jonathan, 4 hours
Elsie Mae, 1.5 hours
#8, remains to be seen
How did you know you were in labor?
Brendan, contractions I couldn't sleep through
Rebekah Joy, irregular but persistant contractions
Nadia, contractions
Anna, contractions I couldn't sleep through, no more than 5 minutes apart...for 5 days... no joking
Victoria, the doctor showed mercy and agreed to induce, since Tim was returning to Niger in 10 days and leaving me on my own with 5 kids, 7 & under. I wanted at least a few days of recovery time. :-)
Jonathan, contractions
Elsie Mae, no contractions, just a slightly achy back that made me suspicious, so we decided to visit the midwife to be sure. Tim delivered Elsie...
#8, remains to be seen
Where did you deliver?
Brendan, hospital, Midland, MI
Rebekah Joy, hospital, Midland, MI
Nadia, hospital, Midland, MI Anna, hospital, Quebec City, Quebec
Victoria, Lansing, MI (a complete induction)
Jonathan, clinic, Niamey, NIGER
Elsie Mae, clinic, Niamey, NIGER
#8, remains to be seen, hopefully the hospital in Midland, MI
Drugs?
Brendan, yep, Nubain and I loved it!
Rebekah Joy, in theory, except the nurse forgot to open up the IV.
Nadia, no
Anna, kinda sort of... after 5 days of no progress, they gave me a shot of demerol, things took off and my almost 10-lber baby arrived 25 minutes later.
Victoria, yep, an epidural, that DIDN'T work! Jonathan, Does extra strength Tylenol that I brought to the clinic myself count?
Elsie Mae, Nope... I didn't even bother with packing the Tylenol the second time around.
#8, remains to be seen, but we are praying for a quick and completely natural delivery a bit before my due date.
C-section?
Thankfully, none so far. We want to continue that trend.
Who delivered?
Brendan, intern working with the doctor on call
Rebekah Joy, doctor
Nadia, doctor
Anna, a doctor and the first English speaking medical person I'd encountered in those 5 days
Victoria, doctor
Jonathan, midwife
Elsie Mae, her daddy - the midwife was out calling the doctor to tell her she needed to hurry to make the delivery
#8, remains to be seen, though I know it won't be his/her daddy this time, since we'll be on different continents
If you want to play along with this meme, just cut and paste the questions into your own blog, and leave your link at Rocks In My Dryer. Leave me a comment, so I can check out your labor history, too!
September 02, 2008 - Prayer for the Second Day of Ramadan
Or, you can go directly to the following web page:
Anna's Doing a Happy Dance Today!
Anna lost a tooth last night... one of her top two front teeth... And actually, her dad finally just yanked it out since it was hanging by a thread (literally), she was complaining she couldn't eat with it, and she was making that tooth do disgusting things that were really turning the tummy of her pregnant mother... 
So why is she doing the happy dance? Because last night, the "tooth fairy" just happened to not be broke (finally)! She was quite excited to find a 500 fcfa piece under her pillow, inside the ziplock bag where she left her tooth last night. I think she's planning to buy one of those rolls of foot long bubble gum at the Rec Center next time we go. Hopefully I won't be trying to wash it out of her hair before church late Saturday night/early Sunday morning...
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Tooth fairy design from Skye Aurora Designs.
Bubble blowing picture is from Smile Wizard newsletter, vol 3.
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